1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a testing apparatus for testing a property of photocurable resin, a retainer used in such a testing apparatus, and a method for testing a property of a photocurable resin.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, properties of photocurable resins upon release, represented by peeling force, have been studied. Measurement of properties of photocurable resins disclosed in “Measurement of Adhesive Force Between Mold and Photocurable Resin in Imprint Technology (Jpn. Appl. Phys. Vol. 41 (2002) pp. 4194-4197) (Hereafter, Reference 1) are conducted by the following procedure.
(a) A photocurable resin is dripped on one of rectangular glass substrates (hereafter, “first substrate”) by a device that drips the photocurable resin and the other of the rectangular glass substrates (hereafter, “second substrate”) is placed on its edge on the first substrate so that the second substrate is adhered perpendicular to the first substrate.
(b) A pair of the glass substrates adhered with the photocurable resin is transported to a testing apparatus and set therein so that the first substrate is held on its both ends.
(c) Ultraviolet light is irradiated to the photocurable resin through the glass substrate to cure the photocurable resin.
(d) Thereafter, a test force is applied on both edges of the second substrate in a direction departing from the first substrate and peeling force of the cured photocurable resin is measured.
The property measuring method disclosed in “Quantifying release in step-and-flash imprint lithography: J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 24(6), Nov/Dec 2006” (Hereafter, Reference 2) is conducted by using a testing apparatus and a jig described as follows. This testing apparatus includes a table that retains a template on a surface of which a photocurable resin is dripped, an ultraviolet light irradiating device that irradiates ultraviolet light to the photocurable resin through the template from beneath the table, a hemisphere pressing jig (hemispherical superstrate) that contacts the photocurable resin dripped on the surface of the template on the table, and an elevating machine that moves the pressing jig up and down through a load cell.
The procedure of the property measuring method disclosed in Reference 2 is as follows.
(a) On a surface of a template (which is an element corresponding to a stamper) held on a table is dripped a photocurable resin.
(b) The hemisphere pressing jig is moved down by means of the elevating machine to have the hemisphere made of a resin of about 2 mm in diameter contacted the photocurable resin and ultraviolet light is irradiated thereon.
(c) After the photocurable resin is cured, the hemisphere pressing jig is moved up by the elevating machine to take the hemisphere off from the template. On this occasion, the photocurable resin that has been cured between the template and the hemisphere is peeled off from the template and transferred to the hemisphere as the hemisphere is moved.